In Conversation: Gab Rhome on his new All Day I Dream EP

Today, we had the opportunity to chat with Montreal-born producer, Gab Rhome, about his tantric synth and delicate percussion workings that make up his unique sound. His new EP is his sophomore release with All Day I Dream, following his massive collaboration with Maher Daniel, and joining his impressive discography including releases with labels like Sasha’s Last Night on Earth, Above & Beyond’s Anjunadeep, and Get Physical’s sublabel Kindisch Records. Check out his new EP below, with one of the tracks premiering exclusively on When We Dip.

Hey Gab, thanks for joining us! How long have you been making music?
I’ve been playing instruments since the tender age of 6 – I started with accordion, trombone, bass guitar, and a bit of piano (mostly to assist in music theory classes). I started making music with synths and computers about 9 years ago.

What inspired you to start making music?The ability to create pretty much anything you have in mind. Making music alone in the studio is much more personal and much more emotionally relevant to yourself than with a band. Seeing people connect with your music takes a whole new dimension when there’s so much of you into it.

What’s your favorite synth / VST / instrument?Synth-wise I have a few.. They’re all so different it’s hard to love only one. If I had to marry one though it would probably be the Nord Lead for it’s versatility, or the Vermona Perfourmer for it’s creaminess and craziness.

What was your first All Day I Dream experience like?Music-wise; when I first heard Fur Die Liebe, it really clicked in my head: that’s finally the type of sound I want to be involved with. It’s beautiful, interesting, and most definitely not boring (I was a bit revolted by the cold robotism of a lot of tech-house at the time).
Event wise, everything was so positive. It was in NYC, where I have many friends and acquaintances, I felt everyone was ready to connect and share a pretty great moment. I left inspired in that summer of 2013.

How did you get involved with the label?Maher Daniel and I were working on a song together. He posted a phone video snippet of the song on Facebook and Matt Dekay happened to see it. He hit us up directly to ask about the song. Lee asked me to try the B-side as a solo track and it grew from there.

Who are some of your favorite artists in house music or other wise?I’m all over the place but Four Tet really does it for me. Besides him, James Holden, Sebastien Léger, Nicola Cruz, Powel, Lost Desert and the list goes on.

Could you describe the meaning behind some of the names of the tracks on your EP?
They usually all originate from things I hear people say around me. The exception to this rule is Madama Firefly because I was really fascinated by Puccini’s Madama Butterfly’s key relation in a global way and inspired myself from it for two of my song’s parts. The A-side keeps changing key throughout the song so i could actually arrange something extremely dynamic without overloading it with new elements.

Do Not Grill Inside was actually my girlfriend who screamed that at me because I was trying to figure out a way to bring a grill inside (and cook with it). She got scared, with reasons, and screamed : ”Gab!! What is wrong with you?? Do not grill inside!”

Any other exciting details about yourself you’d like to add?I fell off the stage of my first ever concert at 7 or 8 years old. My parents taped it so I have a proof.